Newport schools service first in Wales
A SCHOOL counselling project that is the first of its kind in Wales has been agreed between the University of South Wales (USW) and Newport City Council.
The renewed partnership will see USW specialists provide counselling services to every school in the city, and ensure children aged between three and 19 get access to services, including counselling and psychotherapy, both face to face and online.
USW will also provide counselling for children not in education, employment or training (NEETS) from the Helen Kegie Centre for Therapies, which was opened earlier this year in the University’s Newport Campus.
The partnership is a result of Welsh legislation which requires local authorities to provide school-based counselling services to children aged 10 and above.
Newport council extended this to age three, and designed the only scheme of its kind across Wales in partnership with USW specialists.
Christian Davies-Trigg, School Counselling Service Manager at USW, said: “We’ve been working with Newport council since 2010, initially providing counsellors to all primary school pupils, before extending the programme to cover all secondary schools.
“We’re thrilled to have secured this contract again and to continue working with the council. In addition to providing counselling services to schoolchildren, it also allows us to provide placements to our students on university courses, such as art psychotherapy, children and young people, and consultative supervision.
“Because we have hired the counsellors ourselves, we know our students are receiving a highquality placement that meets our standards – standards that are now influencing Welsh Government guidance.”
USW Therapy has been asked to work with Welsh Government to develop the School-based Counselling Operating Toolkit, which includes guidance for counsellors and counselling services across Wales.
The new Newport service is promoted at schools across the city as TalkingZone – encouraging students to talk to counsellors either at school or online about any issues they face.
Children who have used TalkingZone have said that counselling helped them cope with situations both inside and outside school.
Increasing numbers of pupils in Welsh schools are dealing with mental health issues, according to teachers.
Almost half of education professionals in one union told a survey last year that pupils in their school have self-harmed due to stress. Research compiled by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) found that 48% of members knew of pupils who had self-harmed in their school.